What to use instead of cavatappi
Three ways to hold sauce at once, so it takes cheese sauces, cream, pesto, dressings, and a light ragu. It is the upgrade from elbows in mac and cheese and it stays springy when cold.
The closest swap: fusilli
A solid spiral with similar grip.
Cavatappi is tubes, 30 to 40 mm long, 8 to 10 minutes in the pot. Fusilli sits in the short shapes family and cooks in 9 to 12 minutes. Match the cook time first. A swap that is right in shape and wrong in time still ends up wrong on the plate.
Every swap for cavatappi, ranked
A substitute must behave the same way with the sauce you are making. The ones marked as chosen are hand-picked. The rest score on family, cavity, surface, size, and shared sauces.
- 1
Fusilli
Short shapes · Campania
A solid spiral with similar grip (chosen)
- 2
Macaroni
Tubes · Campania
The plain elbow (chosen)
- 3
Gemelli
Short shapes · All of Italy
A twisted pair of strands (chosen)
- 4
Chifferi
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 5
Penne
Tubes · Liguria
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 6
Pennette
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 7
Sedani
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 1 sauce, close in size
- 8
Pipe rigate
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 2 sauces
Match the sauce, not the look
Cavatappi is listed against 6 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for mac and cheese: A cheddar or American cheese sauce, often baked. Elbows are traditional. Shells and cavatappi hold more sauce.
- Best pasta for pasta salad: Cooked, cooled pasta dressed with oil or mayonnaise and mixed with vegetables. Short shapes with folds that hold dressing.
- Best pasta for cream sauce: Panna with cheese, mushrooms, ham, or peas. Heavy and clinging. Ridges and cups keep it on the pasta.
- Best pasta for pesto alla genovese: Basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, pecorino, olive oil. Raw and oily. Trofie and trenette are the Ligurian pairings.
- Best pasta for four cheese: Gorgonzola, fontina, parmesan, and one more, melted into cream. Heavy. Gnocchi, penne, or a baked shape.
- Best pasta for vodka sauce: Tomato, cream, a splash of vodka, parmesan. Pink and smooth. Penne and rigatoni; the cream needs ridges to hold.
Side by side
The measured difference between cavatappi and each swap.